APCAS Activities

Conservation the Bolgoda Lake, by effective using of sawdust.

timber factory around Bolgoda LakeProject Term
April 2009 - March 2011

Background
Moratuwa is situating on western province in Sri lanka that has belong to Colombo District. 220,000 population on there and commonly known as an economical city. And also this city has flourished as a center of timber industry.

The Bolgoda Lake is one of valuable resource in Moratuwa, however in recent years, the lake and its surroundings were facing to the environmental destruction due to the waste-sawdust which emitted by small sawmills near by the lake. The habitat of aquatic plants and water become worse. Photosynthesis processes of plants had crippling down due to the floating sawdust on the water. In addition, that issue has taking away the flourish of the lake, and brings to it a very disgusting appearance. As a result of many of mangroves kinds, birds and wild animals have been affecting to a huge crisis.

Sawdust Briquette producing processAim
To improve quality of water resource and biological diversity through producing and selling the briquettes made from waste sawdust around the Bolgoda Lake. Finally, repeating this cycle, to achieve good balance of environmental conservation and economic growth at that area.

Beneficiaries
Saw mills nearly about 10,000 which located on nearby lake.
1,500 households Indibedda area (about 7,000) people
About 350 students in school

Implementation
1. Constructing facility to Produce Briquettes
To resolve the long run issue which has facing that area, Rakuno Gakuen University Japan and our organization started to tuckle this crucial waste problem through sustainable way.
Under this project, we established a factory in that location with using the Japanese technology. In that product we use as the one and only row material is the wasted saw dust and producing the briquettes which are useful materiel for substitute to fire woods.

environmental education "Collecting Surrounding Garbage Game"We’re trying to make a much higher demand for wasted sawdust and use it for ecofriendly fuel. Not only encouraging the community but also tries to makes a good conversation about waste problem with them. We suppose that effort would be help to the government sector also promote towards recycling.

2. Environmental Education in Moratuwa
Moreover, for the awareness of waste problems for young generation, we have worked on environmental education programme in the several schools in Moratuwa city.

Our approach can be introducing as an "environmental protection", on the other hand "Industrial Development" which is promoting nature conservation in Bolgoda area and get it into sustainable development.